During the course of a typical golf game, a golfer is at times required to putt a golf ball a short distance in order to sink the ball in a hole. To putt the ball, the golfer typically stands facing the ball so that his shoulders are parallel to the path he intends the ball to take. The golfer then extends the golf club toward the ball so that a head of the golf club is aligned with the ball. The golfer swings the head of the club toward the ball, striking the ball and propelling it toward the hole.
A drawback of conventional golf clubs is that when the golfer aligns the head of the golf club with the ball, the golfer's eyes are not aligned with the path he intends the ball to take. This is so because the golfer typically stands to the side of the path and looks across the path rather than sighting along the path. As a result, the golfer may misalign the head of the club with the ball. The potential for misalignment is greatest on mid-range putts because the distance between the ball and the hole is of the same order as the distance between the ball and the golfer's eyes. A golfer using conventional clubs on mid-range putts must therefore be aware of the fact that his eyes are not accurately aligned with the path he intends the ball to take and must correct for this misalignment as he adjusts the position of the club head relative to the ball. The golfer must then maintain this correction as he moves the head of the club away from the ball and swings the head toward the ball. If the golfer does not accurately maintain the proper alignment between the ball and the head of the club, the ball will miss its target and the golfer's game will suffer.
A further drawback with conventional golf clubs is that the golfer has no way of accurately determining when the head of the golf club is horizontal. If the head of the club is not horizontal when the golfer strikes the ball, it may not strike the ball squarely causing the ball to diverge from its intended path and miss its target.